AfrIPI successfully concludes a 3-year initiative to set up collaborative innovation platforms in 17 OAPI countries
After almost 3 years of varied support to Member States of the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI), AfrIPI hosted the final stage of the initiative ‘Setup of innovation platforms in OAPI pilot countries’.
Held in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire from 24 to 26 July 2023, a regional workshop concluded the process of setting up interactive platforms between universities, research centres and enterprises to boost the strategic use of innovation in home-grown development. The event was hosted on the sidelines of the 9th edition of the Salon Africain de l’Invention et de l'Entreprise Innovante (SAIIT), organised by the OAPI and the Côte d'Ivoire Government.
During the event, which was supported by partners that included the European Patent Office (EPO) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), moderators of the emerging innovation platforms and government officials in charge of intellectual property development took part in training and capacity building sessions aimed at boosting the continuity of the innovation platforms. They shared experiences on current and future challenges in a bid to promote the use of innovation and protection of Intellectual Property Rights as a catalyst for economic development and growth.
The opening ceremony was attended by Mr Denis Bohoussou, the Director General of the OAPI and Ms Francesca Di Mauro, the EU Ambassador for Cote d’Ivoire, as well as representatives from the WIPO and the EPO. In her opening remarks, Ms Francesca Di Mauro renewed the EU’s commitment to supporting initiatives that put African inventors at the heart of local solutions. ‘The EU takes innovation and IP very seriously’, said Mrs. Di Mauro and added ‘it is our hope that because of programmes such as AfrIPI, we will continue to make a meaningful contribution to the promotion and protection of IP which is an important source of value for companies around the world’.
Following several weeks of review, and based on their analysis during the workshop in Abidjan, a selection committee identified three pilot innovation platforms to be supported by the AfrIPI partners in 2024. These projects were announced during the SAIIT gala dinner by the AfrIPI project leader, Aida Galindo. The projects in question are:
- Togo: a national platform for agricultural and agri-food innovations
- Cameroon: a platform for agriculture, agro-industry, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics
- Côte d'Ivoire: a virtual platform for producing and marketing innovations.
The SAIIT event, being the biggest event in the OAPI region for the promotion of innovation, inventions and IP, provided an opportunity to interact with a variety of visitors to discuss AfrIPI and geographical indications, and to present the Africa IP SME Helpdesk services to SMEs, organisations and the public. Close to 1 000 people visited the AfrIPI booth including students, inventors, business people, and government and elected officials.
